Tell us a bit about yourself

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I’ve lived in Auckland most of my life and spent over 20 years in the civil industry before going out on my own. Working for yourself makes you far more financially aware than a regular pay cheque ever did. On a salary, the money side largely looks after itself. Self-employed, it’s all on you. BudgetBuddie syncs and categorises everything automatically, so I can see where I stand financially at any moment, without the spreadsheets or the daily admin.

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Self-employment changes your relationship with money. On a salary, pay lands on a set date and the gap between income and expenses is easy to see. Working for yourself, income is irregular, tax and GST need setting aside, and no one covers your slow months. Even if you’re an Excel master, the numbers only add up if you’re updating them daily, and tracking, forecasting and categorising takes time you’d rather spend earning.

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BudgetBuddie closed that gap for me. Transactions sync and categorise automatically, and the stats show exactly where I sit financially, updated whenever I look. The regular email reports also let me step back and see how I’ve tracked over time.

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What's your money story?

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I’ve always leaned towards saving, but self-employment made me far more deliberate about it. After 20 years of predictable pay, I now deal with lumpy income, tax set-asides and no paid leave to fall back on. For me, good money habits are less about frugality and more about knowing exactly where I stand, so I can make decisions on purpose instead of finding out later where it all went.

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What drew you to BudgetBuddie?

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I was pulling transactions out of my bank and into Excel because the bank’s own tools didn’t go far enough. That meant constant manual work, and I wanted something live. I’ve built trackers myself in spreadsheets, in code and with AI, but maintaining your own app on top of running a business is a poor use of time. BudgetBuddie showed up in its early days with a polished app and the data integrations I was after. A conversation with Tim, the developer, convinced me it had a real roadmap behind it, not just a one-off release.

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How has BudgetBuddie changed the way you think about and manage your money?

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Having every source in one place, already categorised, has changed how closely I look at where my money goes and why. I spend far less time managing it and get a clearer picture in return, which has taken a lot of the stress out of it.

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What’s a money goal that really matters to you, and how is BudgetBuddie helping you work towards it?

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I want my living and business costs always covered with a buffer to spare, and anything beyond that working for me in the right place. I also want my habits with money to be as clean and responsible as possible. BudgetBuddie gives me the visibility to keep that on track.

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What would you say to someone thinking about using BudgetBuddie?

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Don’t waste your time with Excel, and don’t build your own. BudgetBuddie has been battle-tested and keeps delivering the outcome you need without the effort.

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